U.S. Marshals Arrest 104 'Violent Fugitives' in 2-Week CA Operation

A two-week operation conducted by U.S. Marshals operating out of the Northern and Eastern Districts of California resulted in the arrest of 104 violent fugitives and gang members throughout the state.

The U.S. Marshals Service’s Pacific Southwest Regional Fugitive Task Force worked in cooperation with state and local authorities to make the arrests. According to an official Justice Department press release, the operation targeted specific fugitives “because of their propensity to commit violence in the streets of California, whether through the crime itself or through their gang associations and their violent backgrounds.”

Out of the 104 arrested, 27 are known gang members. Nine were wanted for murder or attempted murder, and 32 were sought on drug charges. Authorities also seized eight firearms, ten grams of cocaine, two pounds of methamphetamine, and one pound of black tar heroin.

Deputy U.S. Marshal Joe Palmer told Breitbart California that authorities worked non-stop for two weeks to track down the criminals.

“We worked through nights, weekends, for 14 days straight,” he said. “We were happy that we got all these guys after just two weeks. You know these guys, especially when it comes to Oakland, they don’t stick around. They flee to other parts of the state and country. We were tracking these guys all over.”

U.S. attorney Melinda Haag praised the U.S. Marshals Service and the operation in a statement:

“My office applauds the extraordinary work of the U.S. Marshals Service and all the other law enforcement agencies in removing these high-risk fugitives from our communities and keeping our cities safe,” she said. “These people need to understand that no matter where they go, or how hard they try to hide, we will use the resources of the federal government to find them and hold them accountable for their actions.”